YAKKIE: “A lot of people have internalised a sense of defeat. Hope is a muscle – you have to push yourself to train it”

YAKKIE are like exploding candy: as colourful, exuberant and joyful as they are crackling with fury in all the right places. And the quartet’s energetic punk is an organic extension of the things that matter most to them: protest, radical hopefulness and, vitally, community. All of which you’ll find on their debut album, Kill The Cop Inside Your Head.

“Anger is only valuable if you’re channelling it, otherwise it’s a destructive force,” explains vocalist Janey Starling. Despite being bundled up in a scarf amid the grey days of winter, she’s a lively character with all the warmth of a July afternoon. Completed by Maeve Westall (drums), Robin Gatt (guitar) and Laura Ankles (bass), the London-based band all spring from other great rock acts, from Dream Nails to Petrol Girls and beyond.

Before YAKKIE came together, Janey was putting all her focus into activism via Level Up, an organisation that works towards gender justice in the UK, which earned her a Kerrang! Award in 2022. Her time away from music was certainly no picnic, but it made her hungry for heavier tones with a political undercurrent.

“We’re all just finding so much joy in it,” she smiles. “That really came through in the recording when we went to the studio.

“We had to self-fund it, so we could only afford four days. We recorded it all to tape so everybody had to be completely in sync. We recorded a couple of songs, like Rabbit’s Got The Gun, in one take. Creatively, it forces you to be courageous and disciplined. When you’re recording to tape, there’s only so many tracks. You’ve got to lock in and make a decision on when enough is enough.”

The album’s title-track is a rallying warm-up about silencing the voice in your mind that believes what you have to say doesn’t have any worth. It’s not a pointed shameful finger, but an outreached hand.

“Our hopelessness under capitalism is manufactured, and as soon as you recognise that, it’s liberating,” Janey declares. “I truly believe that we are in fascism now, and the biggest barrier to fighting fascism is convincing yourself that the fight is worth it. It’s thinking, ‘Yes, there is a point going to protests. Yes, I should join my union.’ I think a lot of people have internalised a sense of defeat.”

YAKKIE believe not all is lost. But it starts with us being kinder to ourselves, taking steps toward action and sticking together. At their shows, you’ll laugh, cry and rage, and then skip with glee on the way out.

“Hope is a muscle – you have to push yourself to train it,” says Janey, “and it’s best done with other people.”

This interview originally appeared in the spring 2026 print issue.

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